The use of baby bottles for the feeding of infants has become very popular. The bottles are filled with a liquid with the liquid dispensed through a nipple secured on top of an open end of the bottle by a collar threadingly engaging the top of the bottle.
Bottles are usually of an elongated cylindrical configuration, typically of a four-ounce or eight-ounce capacity. These bottles are of a size, shape and weight, when full, which make them difficult for a child to grasp so that the child may hold the bottle to feed themselves. Accordingly, the assistance of an adult is usually required to feed a baby with a baby bottle.
One attempt to solve the problem of requiring the assistance of an adult in a bottle feeding is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,630 to Campbell et al. In this patent, a baby bottle is disclosed having an elongated centrally disposed opening extending through the body of the bottle and providing spaced oppositely-disposed hollow portions having a circumferential dimension small enough for being readily encircled by the hands of a baby. The hands of an infant may thereby extend through the central opening so as to grab one side portion of the bottle. A baby may thereby independently support the bottle during a feeding operation without the assistance of an adult.
One problem encountered with the use of this type of bottle is that the center longitudinally-extending hole is of a dimension unsuitable to accommodate the hands of an infant which prevents a proper use of the bottle. Therefore, there are children whose hands cannot surround a normal elongated cylindrical-type bottle and whose hands are not accommodated by a central opening of a baby bottle as disclosed in the Campbell et al. patent.